The Role of International Conventions in Protecting Seaports during Armed Conflicts

Abstract

Seaports are one of the elements of maritime transport, and have an important role in activating and activating maritime traffic, and it also has importance in the movement of maritime transport, as seaports represent the gateway through which countries overlook the outside world, it is the station between two types of transport in order to reach the intended destination, in other words, it is the end of land routes of all kinds,  The port provides loading and unloading services, receiving and deporting passengers, in addition to supplying ships with their needs of fuel, food, and other services they need.

However, they are exposed to the risks of military attacks in times of armed conflict, which represent a threat to their safety, so the rules of international humanitarian law have provided protection for these ports, as international conventions included texts that seek to protect them, as well as the rules contained in international custom that helped provide a kind of protection for them, in addition to the general principles of international law that can be applied to the situation of armed conflicts, which provides protection for these ports. Therefore, we will deal with the protection of seaports in two sections, the first section is devoted to the definition of seaports, while the second section is devoted to the sources of international protection of seaports.